Jerry Isenhour
Coach’s Corner The Challenge of 2020 — One No One Could Have Predicted
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As I write this article, April 1, 2020. My most fervent hope is that as you read this, the curve of the COVID-19 will have begun to flatten and that we have not lost family members, friends or colleagues during the crisis that is sweeping our world, our country and our communities. It seemed so long ago, but it was only a few short weeks ago that our worlds started turning upside down. Who would have known in early March that we would face these challenges as they crept to our towns and areas? Who could have foreseen that our lives would be disrupted so? Who could have anticipated that we would be faced with the question of essential or non-essential business? Or that our focus of safety would have changed from ladder
safety, roof safety, and fall protection to safety steps that included social distancing, sanitation, and the wearing of masks and gloves to protect our bodies and those we may come into close contact with. No one assumed that the fear that could come from a simple handshake or a hug from a friend would be in our lives. I think one of the best quotes for the present situation from Zig Ziglar is likely “Expect The Best, Prepare For The Worst, Maximize What Comes.” As I have shared with many, in a time such as this that challenges us to our very being, the following should be the order of importance for each of us as business owners and leaders:
S weeping | May | 2020
#1 Follow The Best Course Of Action For You And Your Family. #2 Follow The Best Course Of Action For Your Business. #3 Follow The Best Course Of Action For Your Employees. #4 Follow The Best Course Of Action For Your Customers. #5 Follow The Best Course Of Action For Your Community. If we look over the past month, our discussions have drastically changed on social forums, and it was only a few weeks ago that our discussions were about the industry, methods, ideas, and concepts. Now our discussions are about SBA loans, paycheck protection, and disaster loans. Many of the workers in our industry have been displaced from their jobs. Now we
are keyed into the role of being a survivalist, not only of financial downfall but also of the fear of a disease that is building nationwide as I write this article. This will be a time of learning, as we have never learned before. Likely, we will have a new appreciation of our grandparents and great-grandparents that lived through the great depression. This tuition that we pay will be costly, but what we must look for the way we will come out of this. Life and how we do business will change going forward. Prior to this, the economists and financial gurus commonly suggested that each business builds a reserve fund of 6 months for times such as this. I was advised earlier this week that economists are now
